China is planning to launch a lunar probe sometime before 2020 on its attempt to land on the dark side of the moon, making it the first in space history.
Zou Yongliao, an engineer from Chinese Academy of Sciences, said on Tuesday that the lunar mission will be carried out by Chang'e-4, a moon exploration mission incorporating a robotic lander and rover. He added that the mission's objective is to study the geological conditions on the "far side" or dark side of the moon, according to CBC.
The Chinese government had involved experts in the 12-month long mission planning.
"China will be the first to complete the task if it is successful," Zou said to China Daily.
The dark side of the moon is always facing away from Earth. It is known to have one of the largest craters in the solar system known as the South Pole-Aitken basin. Russia and the United States had viewed the dark side in 1959 and 1968, but no human being has ever stepped on its surface.
Last month, NASA released series of test images showing the illuminated dark side of the moon that is never seen by Earth. The images, captured by NASA's Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera (EPIC), showed that the dark side doesn't have the large, dark basaltic plains or maria that are prominent on the Earth-facing side.
So why China is suddenly interested in the moon? As HNGN previously reported, China has three main goals for launching its lunar program: to gain technological skill, to understand the moon's evolution, and to develop their lineup of astronomers. China made its first moon landing with Chang'e-3 in December 2013.
